Burners Unite!
by StokinDembers
Summary: The Burners have enough chaos in their daily routine as it is without adding relationship drama to the mix, but when Mike Chilton decides to finally wade his way into the dating scene with Foxy, tension in the team rises. Meanwhile, danger lurks around every dark corner and the only way to combat it is through teamwork. But will the Burners unite before it's too late?
1. Engine Trouble

_Hello folks!  
Thanks for clicking! This is StokinDembers, back with a sequel fic to "Goodbye Mutt!" I'm so deflated that a second season to Motorcity has not been announced in any media, nor is likely to be. With this sad reality in mind, I figured the only appropriate response for me to make is to honor the characters we all love by continuing their life span in a multi-chapter story of my own! If you enjoyed Goodbye Mutt, then you will enjoy this ten times more! _

_Now... have at it!  
__**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Motorcity, or else there would be a season two and three by now! _

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**Burners Unite: **Engine Trouble

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The famous, sludgy, smells of Jacob's beloved open bar diner "Mutt Dogs" wafted through the air to mingle with the all too familiar stench of grease and motor oil which drifted from the vastly populated parking lot. Mike Chilton took a deep breath, immensely enjoying his surroundings from where he sat at the counter with a cold drink between his hands. Despite the fact that the air was rather stuffy to ones nostrils, this place was home to Mike, and he wouldn't like to be anywhere else on a free afternoon. Cars were parked everywhere, their drivers chilling around with drinks or burgers in their hands, sitting either in, on or against their vehicles. Mutt Dogs was the newly designated hang out for most of the gangs in Motorcity and growing in popularity.

For the Burners, things were definitely feeling a bit more crowded around headquarters but not one was about to even consider thoughts of relocation. Jacob was too big of a friend and the gang still met, worked and hung around as regularly as usual. Mike took another refreshing sip of Jacob's signature energy juice as his eyes drifted over the parking lot, easily spotting out his gang members. All the Burners, minus one, were present, each conducting their own conversations with the various motor enthusiasts lingering about. It was Julie that was missing. Of course, it was only normal that she showed last, considering her home and her spying post was up in the dangerous boarders of Detroit Deluxe. Even so, she was pretty late, but Mike wasn't worried just yet. He'd wait a little longer before he'd draw any frightening conclusions. For now, he continued to watch his crew with warm, affectionate eyes.

Dutch was happily speaking with his girlfriend Tennie. The pair's relationship had been going extremely well, and Mike was happy for them. Chuck stood not far off beside Blonde Thunder, managing his best to refrain from looking like a boggle eyed dork while Claire jabbered his ear off. Meanwhile, Texas was showing off, as usual, having jumped directly onto the hood of his car and was proceeding to do a handstand in front of some of the Amazon ladies. Mike couldn't keep the amused grin off his face as he watched the spectacle. Amidst the group of Amazon females, their proud, beautiful leader, Foxy, suddenly caught his eye. Mike Chilton hadn't had much dealings with the Amazon's, nor their leader in particular, but they had been allies in the most recent of Kane's plots, and he certainly wasn't opposed to seeing more of them. As it was, Foxy, was now turning away from the crowd of spectators, much to the clear disappointment in Texas's upside down face, and heading Mike's way. Mike smiled politely as she approached.

"Hey," Foxy greeted in her relaxed, sexy way, sliding comfortably into the seat beside him at the counter before crossing her legs.  
"Hi Foxy," Mike responded pleasantly.  
"Your friend there is quite the acrobat," Foxy remarked in mild amusement, nodding Texas's way.  
"Yeah... he's got enough moves to keep the best of Kane's forces on its toes," Mike replied brightly.  
"Frankly, I'm more interested in your moves," Foxy announced, leaning an elbow on the bar to smile at the lead Burner alluringly, "Your last stunt for example...must have been hard to loose that pretty car of yours. I know I'd regret parting with mine," she commented. Images of his now long gone motorcar filtered through Mike's head, accompanied with the slight throb of heartache. He missed his Mutt, but as Jules had been so good to remind him a couple nights ago, he would always have his memories of her.  
"It was a hard decision," Mike admitted with a slow nod, trying not to look too grim, "But it was all for the best,"  
"And now you've got that cool motorbike out there. Named it yet?" Foxy asked curiously. Mike was strangely surprised at the interest Foxy was taking in his personal business, but not displeased. In fact, it was rather nice. She'd never given him this kind of attention before.  
"Not quite, Julie had the idea to name it Mutt Junior, or something that honors Mutt's memory," Mike answered.  
"I'd definitely keep the dog names rolling. Perhaps something more fierce than Junior though. Maybe, _Hound_ for example?" Foxy offered. Mike considered the name then smiled at the Amazon.  
"Not bad," he appraised.

...

Julie pulled into Mutt Dog's front lot, excited and somewhat nervous. Her hands clutched the steering wheel of 9 Lives rather tightly, fuzzy dice swaying from the rearview mirror with the movement of the car as it rumbled through the populated parking lot. Whiptail, Stronghorn, Blonde Thunder and Mike's unnamed motorbike were already present, awaiting the arrival of their final team member with a welcome parking spot beside them. Today was just an ordinary day for the Burners. Nothing majorly special was scheduled to happen and with no crises currently requiring attention, there was no real cause for Julie to be anxious. However, there was one large matter which she finally had decided to bring into the light. A matter so massively terrifying that the result of having brought it up would change...well, _everything_.

Today was the day that she was finally going to tell Mike Chilton, the ever faithful friend and gang leader, of her true feelings towards him.

It was a daunting task, one which Julie had spent nearly all night talking herself into. The fact of the matter was, her heart was being wrenched harder and harder the longer she waited. How she had managed to put it off this long she had no idea, but she could not stall any longer. One way or another her torture would end. Mike would either return her feelings and make her the most happy girl in all of Motorcity and Detroit Deluxe, or he wouldn't, and she would learn to get over the disappointment and move on. Yes, it had to be done. Julie put her car in park and opened the driver door to step out into the busy lot. She had meant to be here earlier but 9 Lives had given her a bit of trouble that morning in the garage. She'd been shocked when she'd put the key in and 9 Lives had responded with a sputter and then a loud bang. Julie was no experienced mechanic but she'd known enough to pop the hood and tamper around in there a little bit before successfully getting the vehicle finally up and running. She would have to ask Dutch to run an engine check for her later, or maybe, just maybe Mike would like to do it with her... Perhaps it could be their first date? If all went well anyways...

Julie took a deep breath, and started forward through the rather large crowd accumulated before the open bar. Mostly the crowd was made of locals, but the ever popular Skylarks, Weekend Warriors, Mama's Boys and Amazons were also present. Julie didn't have to look around long before picking out her precious Burner partners amidst the groups. Dutch, Chuck, and Texas were all exactly where she expected them to be, and Mike... hmm, where was Mike? Ah, yes. As usual: at the counter. But, wait... he wasn't alone. Was that... Foxy? Julie approached slowly, not believing her eyes. Mike Chilton was having what looked like a delight conversation with the Amazon leader. His eyes were bright with interest and a gentle, charming smile that formed on the corner of his lips as he spoke. Julie swallowed. Well, this wasn't going quite as she had planned. She stood frozen to the spot, watching wide eyed. But it wasn't much longer before Foxy got up from her seat and they parted ways. It was only after the Amazon left that Mike took a moment to reflect on his surroundings and noticed her standing there.

"Hey Jules!" he called, waving at her to come on over with a smile. Julie felt slightly reassured at Mike's welcoming gesture and continued her approach with more confidence. It had probably been nothing more than a friendly chat from one gang leader to another. That was all.  
"Hey there," she said, coming up with her signature shy smile.  
"The strangest thing just happened," Mike announced, once Julie took a seat. At that her heart nearly beat out of her chest.  
"Foxy, who's never spoken more than a sentence to me, just asked if I wanted to hang out some time," Mike said, looking quite flattered, "She and the Amazons are heading to some party down at the lake tomorrow evening and she invited me to participate as her partner in some of the games they're having set up. All the Burners are welcome of course. I'm sure everyone would like to come. That is if Kane doesn't try and pull any more stunts beforehand," he added, then paused thoughtfully, "Say, you're kind of late. You almost had me worried. What was the hold up?" he inquired curiously.

Julie was stunned. No breath left her lips as her brain processed this devastating hurl of information. How was it, that of all girls, Foxy had come, completely out of the blue, to beat her to the punch? _Foxy_, the leader of a "no men allowed" gang! It was shocking and completely unexpected, nothing short of a cruel blow. Now... what had just seemed like a fairly hopeful chance to capture Mike's attentions had suddenly faded into obscurity. It was some time before Julie realized Mike was still waiting on her response.  
"Jules?" he asked in concern.

"Oh...I... uh..." she stuttered, squeezing her eyes shut before finally getting her words together, "Yeah, sorry about that. I just...had some engine trouble..."

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_So...? You likey? Be sure to click "follow" and leave a review! I update weekly. _


	2. Terra Trouble

_Hey yall,  
Chapter 2 here! Buckle up! :D _

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**Burners Unite: **Terra Trouble

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"Engine trouble? That's not normal for 9 Lives," Mike stated, his brows furrowed in perplexity.  
"I suppose not," Julie replied weakly, sitting uncomfortably on the stool beside him. She was still in a stupor over the last bit of information Mike had given her and couldn't quite regain her happy spirits after such a critical blow to her secret hopes. Since when had Foxy started dating? As far as Julie knew, the formula one driver stuck to her all girl gang 24-7, aside from when she went street racing in public Motorcity events.  
"Whatever the issue is I'm sure Dutch can check it out for you while you're down here. I'd hate for you to break down somewhere and get stranded," Mike said, breaking through her line of thought. Julie nodded silently, sending Mike a failed attempt at a smile. Mike took another drink of his glass, not seeming to notice her solemn attitude, or if he did he showed no signs of it.  
"You thirsty?" he asked.  
"A little," Julie admitted. At this point, she would drink anything that would jump start her broken heart and get it pumping at a regular pace once more.  
"Hey Jacob! Another one of these for Jules if you don't mind," Mike called, hailing Jacob's attention from the counter with the lift of his half gone glass. Julie sat with slumped shoulders, head somewhat lowered and watched Jacob pour her a drink. She offered a thankful smile when he set it before her with a fatherly,  
"There you go sweetheart,"  
Julie took the drink in her hands and lifted it to her lips. The cool, fizzy taste of the energy juice was just what she needed. It got her brain buzzing and heart thumping quicker.

"So, anything new I should know about going on up in Detroit Deluxe?" Mike asked after Julie took her first sip. Yes _work_, Julie could talk about work. Burner business would be a big help in pulling her from the gloominess of the moment.  
"Nothing majorly suspicious on Kane's part, but you'll never guess what I spotted at work," Julie said, her manner somewhat more energictic as she activated her car's computer system to beam to life before her.  
"I was walking past a set of windows inside Kane Co. when I saw this," she informed, swiping to a picture she had snapped and revealing it to Mike. In the image was a narrow street placed between a cluster of tall, pristine, set of white Detriot Deluxe buildings. Coming out from the narrow street, was a group of four people dressed in primal-like clothing, green and brown being their theme colors with gas masks placed over their faces. Mike knew who they were instantly.  
"Terra dwellers," Mike announced, eyes narrowing in suspicion, "I had a feeling we'd see them again. What could they be up to this time?"  
"And how did they get past Kane's security bots without detection?" Julie added.  
"Wait what's that?" Mike inquired, pointing to a blurry part of the photo, "zoom in,"  
Julie enhanced the picture's quality and enlarged it for a better look.  
"It looks like they have one of the security drones..." Mike noted. Three of the four Terra dwellers that could be seen in the snapshot were carrying a vine covered rectangular piece of metal between them, clearly once a Kane Co. robot. The remaining member of the four Terra people was directing their way through the back streets.  
"What could they want with a Kane Co. security drone?" Julie asked, just as confused as Mike.  
"I don't know, but whatever the reason, it can't be good," Mike deduced with certainty. Julie smiled, ready for some action.  
"How soon should we head out?"  
"Right now," Mike answered, standing from the counter top and taking one last finishing sip of his glass. Julie deactivated the holo computer before her and stood.  
"I'll go get the others,"

...

"Remind me again _why_ we are heading strait into Terra territory when we all know the last time we did this things went so well!" Chuck whined sarcastically from the passenger seat of Blonde Thunder. Mike was driving, having left his motorcycle at home in the garage. Dutch hadn't quite had time to finish all the weapon advancements required to make the bike Burner trouble ready and so Blonde Thunder would just have to do for now. Mike had a seriously determined look in his eyes as he clutched the steering wheel firmly with both hands.  
"Kaia and her people are up to no good, and this time, I'm not going to sit around and wait for catastrophe to strike," Mike informed, "We confront the problem head on. Kaia is civil enough to have a decent conversation," Mike stated, sounding as relaxed and sure of himself as ever.  
"Or she could turn all her crazy tarzan jungle people on us and we'd need to hightail it outta there mighty fast," Dutch pointed out from his small boxed holo image on the shared comlink system.  
"I'm thinking Dutch's view on the situation will be most acurate," Julie agreed.  
"So what!?" Texas's voice blared defiantly, "We turn all our crazy big guns on them and send them running! PEW PEW PEW! Without cool cars like us, they don't stand a **chance**!" he exclaimed, karate chopping invisible enemies above Stronghorn's dash board.  
"Texas has got a point," Mike added, "They don't have cars to catch us, and even with their mutant weed weapons, Dutch has equipped our cars with saw blades since the last time we ran into them. We can handle anything they throw at us. Besides, if the innocent people of Detriot Deluxe are at stake, it's worth it," Mike finnished resolutely. Silence fell over the com channel, all expect for Texas's continued " OooWhaaa!" and "Hiyaa!" sound affects. Finally Julie spoke up with a sigh.  
"Civil or not, Kaia won't be happy to see us. I just hope you're right about this kind of approach,"  
"Don't worry, I'll go in first nice and slow while you guys hang back. If things get complicated you know what to do," Mike assured.

Julie however, wasn't feeling very at ease, considering when Mike said "you know what to do" she found herself wondering what is was exactly that she was supposed to do! She kept this fact to herself however, trusting she would figure it out when the time came, and stayed quiet as all four cars rumbled on through the growing vegetation into what was the Terra Village territory. For a couple minutes of driving, there was no movement, not sign of people anywhere.  
"Uhhhh guys, I don't like this... Things are too quiet," Chuck whimpered weakly, "Any second now they're going to jump out an-"  
**THUD**!  
"AHHHH!" Chuck wailed, shrieking his high pitched cry of terror. Several pairs of feet had landed upon Blonde Thunder's hood, with painted, masked faces bent down staring right into front window the next instant.  
Mike's face lit with shocked surprise, but slammed on the breaks in the next moment. Apparently the whole team was in a similiar predicament and Whiptail, Stronghorn and 9 Lives all braked to a halt as well. The Terra dwellers, covered in plant life, animal skins and war paint were poised to attack with long spears and their mutant weed weapons.  
"Whoa hold up there!" Mike Chilton called, rolling down his window, "We come in peace!" he informed, waving a hand. The dwellers paused, glancing at one another as if trying to compute such a possibility.  
"I just want to talk to Kaia," Mike promised, "Is she at home?"  
Another minute of silence passed between the Terra dwellers, leaving the Burners to hold their breath with anxiety until finally, a dweller spoke.  
"Kaia is away doing business at the moment, so we cannot permit you to enter our territory any further," the masked character spoke through his gas breather, "Would you like to leave a message?"

_Kaia away doing business? What was that supposed to mean?_ Mike Chilton was well aware these dwellers could simply be lying to him in order for Kaia to avoid any unwanted confrontations, but if they weren't, what business could Kaia possibly be doing?  
"Uhhh..." it took Mike a moment to figure out exactly what it was he wanted to do, "Sure yeah," he put on a small knowing smile, "Just tell her Mike Chilton stopped by and wanted to make sure she was keeping out of trouble..."

...

**Location**: Kaia's home

"Kaia," addressed a voice from the door way. The female in question turned from her inspection of the deactivated Kane Co. security bot which had captured from Detroit Deluxe earlier that day.  
"Yes lieutenant," she responded pleasantly.  
"The Burners dropped by," the tall man informed.  
"Oh did they?" Kaia replied with interest. She hadn't expected this news to come so quickly. Of course, the Burners always found it their job to stick their noses into Terra affairs so it was expected that they show up sooner or later. But so soon?  
"What did they want?" Kaia questioned.  
"Chilton said to tell you that he dropped by to make sure you were keeping out of trouble," the lieutenant answered tentatively. He knew Kaia had quite a temper and that she didn't enjoy being treated like a child. She was a leader, and a great one at that. Anyone who doubted her capabilities was a fool, the Burners included.  
"Did he now?" Kaia growled lowly, turning back to cast another glance over at the downed Kane Co. robot, "Well Mike's going to realize that he's bitten off more than he can chew this time..." she hissed, pulling a tarp over the Kane Co. robot,

"Get this thing ready for transport," she ordered, "The Duke of Detroit is waiting..."

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_Uh oh! The Duke? What could Kaia possibly be planning? Come back and find out! :D My bad for not updating quicker! Got super busy, but anyway, hope you like! Leave a comment ;) _


	3. Duke's Trouble

_Hi people!  
Sorry it's been a while since I've updated! I'm working to try and keep consistent but so many other story ideas are pulling me this way and that! Anyway, I promise I shall do better and post more frequently! _

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**Burners Unite**: Duke's Trouble

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"Well? What now?"

Julie's grip on 9 Lives' steering wheel had loosened dramatically as soon as they were free from all possibilities of danger. Their encounter with the Terra Dwellers hadn't gone quite like Mike Chilton had planned but Julie couldn't help being rather grateful that they'd been able to leave the tribal territory without incident. Currently, they were now trying to decide what they were doing next. She opted for returning to the Burner headquarter's garage to shut things down for the night, but Mike didn't seem quite ready.  
"I don't know..." Mike's box headed computer system display admitted disappointedly. Chuck's popped up beside it the next moment.  
"How are we supposed to keep tabs on Kaia and what she and her friends are up to if we can't get anywhere near her?" he questioned.  
"Maybe one of us could spy?" Dutch offered.  
"They'd recognize any one of us with how close we'd have to get in order to learn anything," Mike answered, turning the idea down.  
"Welllll...what if we got someone else to spy for us?" Texas piped up, his box image also appearing above Julie's dash.  
"That's... not a bad idea," Mike responded pleasantly. He smiled, an idea having clearly just entered into his head.  
"Who else could we possibly send?" Julie asked, not quite sure what Mike was thinking.  
"I have an idea," Mike replied coolly. Why did Julie get the feeling this _idea_ was going to get them in over their heads?

...

The Duke of Detroit sat slumped back leisurely in his throne chair as his fancy, one of a kind cars glistened all about him in the large show room. Mike thought that he'd never seen anyone so self-glorifying in his life, and in truth, it greatly disturbed him. Out of the Burners it was Mike, Julie and Dutch that tread lightly on the red carpet as they approached cautiously, Chuck and Texas having stayed in the cars outside.  
"Mikey!" the Duke exclaimed in a happy greeting, "I had this feeling I would be seeing you soon!" he announced, jumping up from his throne chair with arms spread open.  
"To what do I owe the _pleasure_?" he asked with a charming smile, playing it suave as usual. Mike wasn't about to be swayed by his casual behavior. If their dealings with Duke and his gang had taught Chilton anything, it was that he was a liar and a double crosser.  
"Don't _Mikey_ me," Mike shot back, "Just because you helped us out a bit in our last escapade doesn't mean I'm ever going to over look the fact that you were firstly the one to trick and turn us in," Chilton warned with narrowed eyes and a stiff pointer finger aimed the Duke's direction. Duke placed his hands on his chest as he approached, putting on the most innocent face.  
"Chilton! You wound me!" he responded pathetically, "Why, I was under the impression that if I hadn't cooperated with the Kanemister, all my beautiful babies would have been taken away! And let me remind you, he took them anyway!" he screamed, scrunching his shoulders and stomping a foot down in a sudden fit of fury, his face blazing a tomato red with steam coming from his ears. Mike cocked a brow. With a big sigh, Duke recomposed himself with pushing back his blonde hair from his face and changing his position to one more relaxed. He put two fingers to his temple.  
"The point is...I've learned my lesson, okay? So no need to come in here all pushy and pouty," he declared walking a circle around Mike as the Burner watched him skeptically.  
"How about we start things over hmmm?" Duke offered with a beaming smile, latching his hands on Mike's shoulders and squeezing in a friendly manner. Chilton wasn't about to go and completely trust Duke after all the history between them just on the terms that they start over, but he'd use this offer to his advantage.

"Sure Duke," Mike said, astonishing his gang as they stood behind him.  
"Mike are you crazy?" Julie questioned.  
"Duke's just playing you!" Dutch added.  
"On one condition," Mike continued to Duke, "That you do us a little favor first,"  
"I'm ALLLL ears!" Duke promised, cupping a hand behind his ear dramatically, leaning forward with the utmost attention being payed.  
"Ever heard of a tribe called the Terra Dwellers?" Mike inquired. Duke's brows arched up in a 'are you kidding me?' kind of gesture.  
"UH..._YES_, of course I've heard of them! I make it my business to know every gang in Motorcity, and above," the Duke gloated haughtily, now strolling over to Julie in whom he circled and inspected unabashedly with springy eyebrows, invading her space to the point where she was looking rather uncomfortable. Mike frowned but continued, deciding to ignore the Duke's odd behavior for the moment.  
"Well then, you must know a thing or two about Kaia. She's the Terra Dweller's leader, and she and her people have a bad tendancy of putting innocent Deluxians into danger. We need to know if she's up to anything, but we can't get close enough to gather that kind of intel," Mike explained. Duke listened with a broadening grin.  
"Wait, wait, wait," he interrupted, waving his extended hands before him, "Let me guess... you want my people to do a bit of spy work and get back to you?" he inquired.  
"Yeah, that was my idea," Mike admitted, "So... do we have a deal?"  
"Hmmmm..." Duke tapped his chin thoughtfully, putting his other arm behind his back as he strolled around Julie once more. Julie watched him with careful eyes. Finally, the Duke stopped and spoke.  
"I'll agree to do this little _favor_, as long as we throw one more aspect into the deal," Duke stated, "As far as I see it, work as dangerous and risky as spying deserves a higher fee,"  
"And what would that be? I've already decided to pardon your past actions, and that's a lot coming from me," Mike returned stiffly.  
"I don't want much... " Duke promised with a puppy pout, "just a day with the lovely Jennie here," the Duke announced, sliding an arm around Julie's shoulder. Mike stared, completely taken off guard and deeply disturbed. Julie squeaked in surprise, but her shock wore away quickly to irritation.  
"First of all, it's Julie," she corrected, "and second of all, why would you want a day with _me_?" she demanded, clearly dumbfounded as to what Duke was thinking in that looney brain of his.  
"_Honey_ Face! Baby Doll! Sugar _Momma_! Why _**wouldn't**_ I want to spend the day with a lovely little lass like you?" the Duke returned, taking a finger and tapping the edge of her nose playfully, "Why, I've had my eye on you ever since your pretty little figure graced my show room with your presence... I've thought of you nearly as often as I do my own precious cars! And that's quite a lot. All I ask is _one_ day," Duke promised with a devilish grin, holding up one finger. Julie's eyes fluttered, awestruck and overwhelmed at his closeness and at his brash advances. Mike just stared, agape, speechless and panicking. Duke couldn't possibly have interests in Julie that way? Could he? And if he did... no, no, he couldn't! Duke was nothing but trouble and whatever he wanted with Julie would no doubt be anything less!  
"NO WAY," Mike replied defiantly, swiping his hands in front of him, "Not gonna happen, Duke,"  
"Oh _**please**_... You doubt my true intentions?" Duke gasped, drawing back in mock offense, "Why, I'll be a perfect gentleman! I'll open doors, pull out chairs, the whole caboodle! I'll even let her ride in any of my limos that she wants! I intend to give this classy lady the _perfect_ day," Duke declared passionately. Julie stared at Duke, flabbergasted with her mouth partly open as she listened to his flamboyant offer.  
"Wait a minute, let me get this strait," Julie interrupted, "In exchange for sending your people to spy on the Terra Dwellers and reporting back to Mike, you want me to come and spend a day with you?"  
"BINGO!" Duke praised, spreading his arms and bowing gallantly. Julie scrunched up her brows in thought.  
"Alright, I'll do it," she answered. Mike paled.  
"Julie... just, hold on a moment here," Mike pleaded, stepping over and pulling Julie over a couple paces to talk in a low whisper, "Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?"  
"Yes... if it gets the team what they need to possibly save more Deluxians, than I'm doing it," Julie replied stubbornly, "Besides, it's just _one_ day, how bad could it be?"  
"Jules, I don't trust him," Mike responded in concern.  
"Yeah well, I don't trust Foxy either," Julie murmured. Mike blinked and stared at her.  
"What?"  
"Never mind..." she huffed, brushing his hand off her shoulder and turning aside, "It's nothing. I can handle myself with Duke, so don't worry about me," she reprimanded, folding her arms. Mike swallowed and sighed. It seemed her mind was made up, and despite how uncomfortable Mike was knowing he wouldn't be there to keep Duke in proper line, he had to trust that Julie could handle herself. Somberly, Mike looked over to the waiting Duke of Detroit.  
"Okay, you've got a deal," Mike announced.  
"Perfect!" Duke rejoiced, "It's settled then, I shall have my men pick you up at 9 tomorrow and drive you over in style," Duke offered, but Julie held up a hand.  
"No, it's alright, I'll drive myself over," she blurted, probably not keen on having Duke or his men come and pick her up from her house... considering it was in Detroit Deluxe. But Duke didn't know that, and she clearly planned to keep it that way.  
"Very well," Duke conceded with a shrug, "And then, the PARTY CAN BEGIN!" Duke sang obnoxiously, a microphone dropping out of no where to land in his hand in perfect time for Duke to sing into it. Lights flashed outrageously bright and confetti exploded from somewhere in the walls with loud music beginning to play in the background.

...

Julie flinched, not quite sure what she had just gotten herself into. The Duke was crazy, but then again, he was the first guy to show her any affectionate attention in a while, and with Mike's protective response to the whole thing, she'd felt a flare of rebelliousness spark to life within her heart. If Mike got to date whoever he wanted, the sad truth being that it wasn't _her_, then by golly, she could date who _she_ wanted! Perhaps it was wrong of her, but maybe there was the slightest chance that with Duke's new attentions shining on her, Mike would finally wake up and realize what he'd been missing for so long... It was a pitiful possibility hanging by little more than the weak threaded remains of her shredded hope, but it was hope none the less! Julie was not going to give up on Mike just yet, even if his affections currently lie another direction. She was too determined. Too in love. She would go through with her scheme, even if it meant enduring a day of Duke's ridiculously over confident, self-righteous attitude...

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_Okay people! PLEASE REVIEW! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I feed on reviews! :D _


	4. Julie's Trouble

_Thanks for your reviews!  
They are sooooo appreciated! You guys are awesome! Since you fed me so well, I now reward you with chapter 4! Sit tight! :D_

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**Burner's Unite****_: _**Julie's Trouble

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Mike Chilton glanced up over at the clock on the garage wall. The hour arm teetered three minutes away from 8:30. Mike shuffled his feet, turning his eyes down to the ground as the sound of tinkering tools echoed in the back ground. Dutch was rummaging around under the hood of 9 Lives, doing an engine check for Julie before she left for her appointed date with the Duke. Julie stood, leaning with a hand cocked on her hip as she watched Dutch do his thing.  
"Okay," Dutch sighed, leaning up from under the hood finally, "I think I fixed your problem. It just needed a bit of TLC," he smiled, patting the car's bumper affectionately.  
"Thanks Dutch, it means a lot that you do this. I owe you one!" Julie praised with a bright smile.  
"Are you sure you're up for this," Mike questioned anxiously, "Because I can call everything off. Maybe Foxy and the Amazon's would do some spy work for us instead..." he offered.  
"NO," Julie replied determinedly, "I can do this!" she argued, "I don't know why you don't trust me to handle myself,"  
"It's not you," Mike replied hastily, "I just don't trust Duke," he explained.  
"Yes I know," Julie sighed, "You've told me. I intend to keep my eyes and ears open while I'm there for anything suspicious on Duke's part. I got this," she finished, ending the conversation by opening her driver door and getting in. Mike rubbed the back of his neck nervously, eyes solemn. He didn't like this at all, but there was nothing he could do now. He just had to believe that Duke would be a man of his word for this one day. But if he behaved anything less than a true gentleman, Mike was going to make sure Duke got what was coming to him! As 9 Live's engine purred to life, Mike and Dutch both backed up to allow Julie space to drive out of the garage.  
"Sounds good," Dutch remarked, smiling and giving Julie a thumbs up as she drove past. She smiled and returned the thumbs up, then was gone, driving off into the distance. Mike sighed.

...

If Julie were to compliment Duke on anything, it would be his unmatched ability to put on quite the show. As soon as Julie pulled up, flood lights flashed from the front of the show room palace directly down at her and fireworks exploded up into the sky, cackling loudly with radiant colors. Julie climbed out of her car, staring up in awe, when the Duke's men came out in their black slack suits and driver caps to escort her to the palace entrance. The female guard called Babs was among them, munching on her pink bubble gum and glaring silently at her behind black sun glasses. Julie could tell she was in for quite a day...  
"Julie! Baby Doll! _Angel_ Face!"  
The doors to the palace show room flung open with a loud _BANG_ to reveal Duke in all his self-righteous glory, robed and all, staff in hand.  
"ARE. YOU. READY?" Duke questioned, a devlishily handsome grin gracing his features. Julie forced an anxious smile onto her lips, shrugging as she approached.  
"I think so..." she replied giddily, having absolutely no idea what Duke had planned.  
"Have I got _the_ **perfect** day prepared for you, my dear!" he bragged, sweeping a hand around before capturing her arm in his and leading her forward into his mansion. Babs followed just behind, arms folded and all the while glowering at Julie's back. The mansion seemed to glow with clean, sparkling beauty, even more brilliant than the day before. Julie wondered how many gang members Duke actually had on hand to order about like house servants. She could only imagine that it would take an army to clean this huge place within the time span of one evening.  
"So what exactly _are_ we doing today?" Julie inquired curiously.  
"Why, you get to choose baby!" Duke said, "Allow me to present to you your options,"  
With the snap of his fingers, three flat screens lowered from the ceiling. The screens flickered to life. Before Julie knew it, Duke had a microphone once again placed in his hand. On the flat screen played the beginning of what seemed to be a whole slideshow, with artful photography and background music. Pictures of the cars, an outside view of the whole palace, the larger than life junk yard, and then an inside shot of a private pool, which Julie didn't even know he had, then a tennis court, followed by a movie theatre then a full sized stage for plays or karaoke. One thing was for sure, Duke had a whole LOT of time on his hands.  
"To start off," Duke spoke into his microphone with a classic, television announcer voice, "we have here a lovely tour of all my breathtaking beauties, including a private collection of rare cars in which no one aside myself has _ever_ laid eyes on much less sat inside! Secondly, the opportunity for the craziest safari ride through the untamed lands of my junk yards where we shall see the most exotic life to roam the Duke's boarders. Or, if a safari adventure doesn't suit your fancy, perhaps you would prefer kicking it back with a bit of sunbathing and relaxation within my personal pool, fit with a water slide, multi-jet hot tub and the purest rays of sun that could ever touch upon a body!" Duke declared proudly, pressing a button on a remote which he pulled from inside his robe and signaling the flatscreen to play further images of the pool and all its features. Julie watched, wide eyed and already feeling she'd been given too many options to pick from, but the Duke was not finished. He rattled on and on about all the different possibilities until he finally ended with option to drive around town with him in his limo and visit anywhere she wanted to go. Julie could honestly say she didn't know where exactly to begin, but what came out of her mouth was that she wanted to have a tour of his palace and his cars. It seemed most logical, considering she was also supposed to be spying around while she was here and Duke was more than willing to oblige her. With the snap of his fingers, the flat screens were gone as was the music and the flashy, fancy lights. He shrugged off his robe, which Babs took for him and hung over her arm, and then rubbed his hands together in anticipation.  
"Right this way!" he said, clearly in love with the idea of showing off his most prized possessions.

Julie fared through the next two hours of car touring pretty well, all things considered. It was eye candy for her to look into each and every one of the Duke's extremely rare, and extremely expensive, personally built cars. And not only did she get to enjoy the cars, but she made mental notes about the diffent rooms within the mansion, remembering windows, doors, lights, guard placements and security cameras. The conversation consisted mainly of Duke's explanations as to how he came to own the car he was showing, as well as the various upgrades or special additions he'd had custom done. Julie stayed mostly silent, preferring to let Duke do all the talking. It was during their walk about in the fifth room of lined up of cars that Duke finally got tired of hearing his own voice.  
"So... how did you become a Burner?" Duke inquired curiously, wiggling a brow. Julie glanced up, startled at the sudden question. That was her private business in which she wished not to discuss, but he was asking, and she wasn't interested in lying. However, she didn't have to tell him the whole truth...  
"I met Mike up in Detroit Deluxe..." she admitted, "I saw what he was doing and learned what he and the Burner's stood for, and after proving what a help I could be, Mike was willing to initiate me into the gang," Julie explained.  
"Fascinating," Duke remarked, "And you've known Mike for how long?"  
"Oh, a couple years I guess... I think two," Julie shrugged.  
"You still enjoy your work getting bossed around by Chilton all day and risking your neck for people who hardly care about your efforts?" Duke questioned. Julie frowned in offense.  
"That's not true. Mike doesn't boss me around all day, and you're wrong, the people of Motorcity do care about our work! We've saved them countless of times!" she protested.  
"And they still leave all the dirty work for you to handle?" Duke responded. Julie was trying to hold back her anger and took a deep, calming breath.  
"They just know how dangerous the things are that we do, and prefer to leave it to us, that's all," she explained. Duke directed a doubtful stare at her from above his sunglass lenses.  
"UH huh... that's one way to look at it," he remarked. Julie knew this was an argument that would continue on and on if she didn't change the subject now.  
"So... now that I've seen all your show room cars, how about those cars you said no one has ever seen but yourself...?" Julie asked, running a hand through her hair and smiling hopefully. Duke's serious facade shifted instantly to his bright cheery self.  
"Right! Come this way!" he said, capturing her arm once more and practically dragging her off.  
"Babs, you stay here!" he shouted back. Babs, who had prepared to follow with eagerness at seeing this "private collection", now stopped and stood angrily. She stomped a foot before turning away and leaving the room in a huff.

After a fast walk through a series of halls, Duke suddenly covered Julie's eyes.  
"Hold on just a second..." Duke said, using one hand to block her sight, and the other to punch in a pass code on the wall. The hidden garage door slid open and Duke put a hand on her back to guide her forward into the darkness. Julie could hear the door shut behind them and waited curiously for Duke to remove his hand from her eyes.  
"Lights on!" Duke called. Answering his command, lights flickered to life. They were weaker voltage than the show room lights placed above all the other cars Julie had seen, but it only added to the mysterious splendor that lay before her eyes the moment Duke removed his hand. In the room was dusty and old, clearly not shown much attention to, if any, but within it held the most precious gems Julie had ever seen.  
"Is...that..." she pointed, unable to speak.  
"The first car ever built...? Why yes! Yes it is!" Duke declared triumphantly. Julie stared with her mouth hanging open.  
"I... can't believe it!" she said, now walking forward to inspect it closer under the dim lighting, "I thought all of these were destroyed by Kane Co, a couple years ago!"  
"Not all of them..." Duke grinned proudly.  
"How ever did you come by it?" she asked in extreme curiosity.  
"I broke into the holding lot in which it was scheduled to be melted and busted the baby out... single handedly I might add," Duke smiled charmingly. Julie's eyes swept over the ancient vehicle in awe until she caught sight of but yet another treasure layered in dust.  
"And... this one?" she asked. This particular vehicle didn't look like any of the other's she'd seen before. It had strange wings on it's side and large thrusters in the back.  
"A project I started a while back... An attempt at building the first flying car," Duke answered, "Eventually, I lost interest, deciding that when Kane Co. revealed their knew technology in hover buildings, it wouldn't be as epic or appreciated by the public," Duke shrugged. Julie thought it a shame. She would like to see a flying car one day. She couldn't even imagine how helpful that would be in fighting Kane Co. droids... But she moved on, staring at the few other hidden jewels before something in the far back caught her eye. A set of four hum-vees, army camouflaged and not the slightest ounce of dust on them, sat in the back, half way covered by a tarp. They must have been something new Duke was working on.  
"And... what's this?" Julie asked.  
"Oh!" Duke rushed to her side, "Forgot those were in here..." he chuckled nervously, "Those are just a couple hum-vees I manufactured with some junk from my junk yards," Duke answered quickly, "They're nothing really. In fact, they turned out so ugly I want nothing to do with them," he stated. Julie could have been wrong, but Duke seemed a bit fidgety. His behavior seemed a bit odd, but then again, when _wasn't_ his behavior odd?! Perhaps he really _did_ just hate the sight of them and couldn't even stand to look at them.  
"Well, on to the next part of our day! Did the safari sound interesting to you? Let's go!" Duke said, now rushing her out of the room with his hands on her shoulders.  
"Oh uh.. yeah... that sounds fine," Julie replied, managing one last glance over her shoulder at the hum-vees. Maybe she was being overly sensitive, but something about those vehicles sparked her suspicion...

* * *

_Hey all! Hope you liked this chapter! Leave more reviews.. like at least 5!...and the next chapter shall be out before the end of the week! _


	5. Girl Trouble

**_Okay Peeps,  
Here you are with chapter 5! See! That wasn't too long of a wait! Thanks for all your wonderful reviews! Now dig in..._**

* * *

The day long barrage of entertaining events within the Duke of Detroit's Palace was, to Julie's actual dismay, finally drawing to a close. Out of all the different activities she'd gotten to experience, getting to know Duke better through all of them was her favorite part. He was not only insanely dramatic and self-centered, but also funny, charming, surprisingly intelligent, and above all...passionate. At least in that regard did Duke have anything in common with Mike. Julie had silently been comparing the two inside her head all day, as it was hard not to do for her when around any man other than Mike Chilton. To her, Mike was perfection. He was everything she loved and cherished, he was her angelic delight as well as her demonic torture... and nothing in the world could taint Mike Chilton within Julie's adoring eyes. Still, she had to constantly remind herself that Mike had absolutely no idea of her feelings towards him, and was a lost puppy, adrift in a park, searching for someone to love who would love him return, but searching in all the wrong places. There had to be some chance for her to get his attention, all she needed was the perfect opportunity and as they day drew to a finish, a certain, wicked idea popped into her mind.

Duke's charm had a power of its own, and it was not so impossible to make others believe that she was actually capable of having enjoyed the gaudy man's presence. As it was, his easy going nature and happy-go-lucky personality had started to tear away at her outer shell of indifference. Despite her guardedness, Julie found herself speaking with him more freely about things throughout the day and not having to work so hard at tolerating him as the minutes passed by. Duke's attention was devotedly set on no one but _her_ every minute of his day, and Julie wouldn't deny that it was good to feel so worshiped. Now, if only Mike could see how happy Duke was spending his time with her!  
"Well my dear, our day is drawing frightfully near its end! I don't suppose you have one last desire for the day?" Duke inquired, spinning his staff in his hand and leaning his other arm around Julie's shoulders as they walked down the main show room towards his throne.  
"Actually, I did have one more thing in mind..." Julie admitted shyly.  
"You just name it darling!" Duke encouraged, now plopping down into his throne contentedly.  
"You see, there is this party... going on down by the lake? Well, all the most popular gangs will be there... competing in a few different sports, and I was wondering if maybe we could swing by?" Julie asked timidly.  
"Why, what an absolutely _FABULOUS_ idea!" Duke appraised. Julie beamed inwardly. Her plan was now set in motion...

...

It was with great self-control and massive amounts of willpower that Mike had successfully refrained from contacting Julie several times that day. It was with even more impressive skill that Mike was able to keep up his normal facade in front of his team members, concealing all of his worries concerning Julie from their notice. He carried through his daily duties as a Burner within garage headquarters, cleaning the cars, tinkering on his motorcycle with Dutch, checking in with Chuck, who was monitoring for potential threats, and accepting Texas' challenges to duel him in video games. Needless to say, the most exciting part of Mike Chilton's day was when time drew near to head on down to the lake.  
"Will Tennie meet you down there?" Mike inquired to Dutch, as they discussed the event eagerly while eating lunch at Antonio's. All four men sat in the booth, drinking their beers and munching on their meal.  
"Last I heard she got her father's 'okay' so unless that changes, yeah, she'll be coming," Dutch replied, "What about you?"  
"Yeah, I'm going. Foxy invited me yesterday and I figure it'd be rude to not show up now," Mike answered.  
"Ahhh... you and Foxy huh...?" Dutch grinned, wagging his brow's mischievously.  
"I didn't know she'd invited you," Chuck spoke up with interest.  
"Na... it's nothin serious like that," Mike shrugged, "I don't think she's really interested in me that way. She was probably just being polite,"  
"Yes, I agree, she's _nice_ like that," Texas now spoke up.  
"I don't know..." Dutch countered, "I wouldn't over look it that quick. Tons of girls like you and you have absolutely no idea,"  
"What girls?" Mike asked, taken back.  
"See! You wouldn't know a girl in love with you if she slapped you across the face!" Chuck mocked.  
"It was always my understanding that it's a _bad_ sign if a girl slaps you across the face..." Mike cocked a brow.  
"You know absolutely nothing about women," Dutch chuckled.  
"And I suppose you're the professor on these matters?" Mike asked, smiling in amusement. He was perfectly open to his friends teasing, but only as long as he got some helpful advice from it all.  
"Well, since I've been dating way longer than you... yes, I'd say I'm somewhat of an authority on these matters within this group," Dutch answered with a confident smile.  
"Then, my good sir, please share thy wisdom with thee," Mike beckoned.  
"Okay, first off, the secret always lies within their eyes..." Dutch began, "if they like you... let the window of their soul be the first to show you. Any girl will laugh if you're funny, any girl would hold pleasant conversation if you weren't a complete moron to them, but their true feelings always lie in the _eyes_! Remember that my friend!" Dutch warned.  
"The... _eyes_...?" Mike looked doubtful, "Like... what kind of look in their eye are we talking about?" he asked, still confused.  
"You know, like those big shining, baby doll eyes Julie always gives you," Chuck commented, stabbing a piece of meat with his fork before plopping it into his mouth. Mike did a double take.  
"Wait, _**what**_?"  
"Oh **come** _on_... Don't tell me you haven't noticed!" Chuck snorted.  
"Haven't noticed _what_?" Mike questioned.  
"The way Julie looks at you all the time," Dutch spoke up.  
"Dude, she's totally digged you for like... the longest time now..." Texas drawled. Mike felt his heart stop in his chest and his whole body became paralyzed, eyes wide and staring blankly off into space. Julie... _**liked**_ him? How had he not known that! No, no no, they couldn't be right! They just _couldn't! _He would have noticed by now, if there was something deeper brewing between them. They _had_ to be wrong. Julie was a sweetheart, but she was like that with everybody, not just him. It was completely ridiculous to assume off handedly that she would so easily throw her heart away for anyone, especially not _him_.  
"You... honestly didn't know?" Dutch asked, utterly blown away by his friend's lack of perception. Mike shook his head, now waking from his frozen state of mental shock.  
"Guys, you're wrong," Mike said assuringly, "Julie doesn't like me, we're good friends, that's all. I care about her, she cares about me, we're just close like that," he said, speaking rationally.  
"Wow, you are so blind," Chuck said. Texas was tutting.  
"Mike, I promise you, Julie may be the best at undercover infiltration and a lot of other things, but hiding her feelings isn't one of her special skills," Dutch stated. Mike was in a daze. Only now, did images of her face and her expressions in previous conversations flit by within his mind's eye, displaying those shining, big beautiful eyes and that gentle smile.  
"How... how did I not see it?" Mike croaked helplessly.  
"I told you... you're just blind," Chuck chuckled.  
"Well, what do I do?" Mike asked desperately, running a hand nervously through his hair.  
"What do you mean what do you do? You don't have to do anything if you don't want to," Dutch shrugged.  
"I mean... I'm going out with Foxy now... sort of, at least I think..." Mike was so darn confused. His mind was spinning and his brain was throbbing, his hands were shaking and his face felt hot. Now that Mike had some insight into Julie's feelings, he wasn't sure how to feel or how to react. In fact, the first emotion Mike realized he was having was anger. If Julie had felt that way about him, why had she never said something? Why did it have to be these guys that had to tell him the news? It almost felt like a rip off, like he was cheating, and getting a sneak preview to Julie's private peak into her heart without her permission. But now that he knew, nothing would be the same!  
"Dude, relax," Chuck encouraged, clearly seeing Mike's internal war being waged, "It's no big deal," he said.  
"Chuckles! This is a huge deal!" Mike berated, "Jules has always been a close friend and team partner, now that I know what she..._feels_ about me, how can I look at her the same?"  
"Who says you have to? If you don't like her, you don't need to freak. Just be how you always are. Nothing has to change," Dutch comforted. Mike felt his stomach grow cold when he suddenly realized that it wasn't the "not liking her" that was the problem...  
"That is... unless you _do_ like her?" Dutch inquired tentatively. All three of the team members had paused to stare at Mike. Mike hesitated, opening his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He tried again.  
"I... I..." he rose from the table, "I need some air," he declared, rushing away from the table at quick walking speed to burst out of Antonio's double door exit. Dutch, Texas and Chuck all exchanged glances.

* * *

_**Mwaa ha haa! Well!? What do you think! Review please! And tell me what you think will happen next chapter! ;D **_


	6. Mike's Trouble

It was the most perfect late afternoon temperature for a lake party. Not too warm, and not too cold, with just enough sunlight to give a tan, and more than enough water to cool you down. The shoreline was bustling with people, cars parked everywhere and games already in motion. Volley ball nets were set up, along with other holo net games. A smoothy bar was open, serving sweet, fruity refreshments to those in need, along with a music stage where a good band was playing popular music through jumbo speakers. Off shore in the water were many swimmers, along with a couple boats in the distance providing fun water ski, wakeboard, and tubing rides for the interested people. Floating obstacle barriers were even set out in the water, marking the starting place, finishing line, and course in between for competitors who wanted to race. And last but not least, the cars were still the main attraction. Plenty of beautiful wheeled vehicles rested just up above the sandy shore line in the parking lot where they could be admired and have votes placed for which ride was the sweetest.

Julie sat staring out of the Duke's limo windows at the scene they were steadily driving towards. Duke sat just across from her with a smile on his face.  
"Looks like quite the place to be," he commented, "Sadly, I won't be able to stay very long. I have business that needs doing tonight, but I'm sure you'll have a rockin time," he stated.  
"Wait," Julie snapped her head around to look at him, "You're not staying?" she asked. He couldn't leave! He was a major part of her plan!  
"Well not for very long sweetums, but I'll be here as long as I can," Duke assured her in his baby tone voice. Julie managed a smile, but inwardly panicked. She just hoped Duke could stay long enough for her goal to be accomplished... The limo pulled into the lakeshore parking lot, not even selecting a line marked spot so much as driving right into the middle of everything, regardless if they almost ran into four people or not, and parking there as freely as if they owned the place. Duke was used to always being the center of attention, and Julie had a feeling that even here among all these people, he would make sure no one could hold a candle to him. She watched as with the click of Duke's finger to a certain button on the inside of the limo's consul, two large speakers morphed from the side of the stretch limo to blare into the public, seizing everyone's attention. Even the beach band on the stage stopped playing their song, figuring it pointless to compete with the neighboring loudness. Then, Babs and six other of Duke's personal lackeys emerged from the front compartment of the limo to line up at the back door. Babs held a microphone and flicked it on before putting it to her lips. The other six lackeys filled in respectfully to the limo door, preparing to open it.  
"Ladies and gentlemen...Announcing the arrival of Motorcity's one and only **Duke** of _Detroit_!"  
The limo doors opened and out came Duke in all his regal glory, both hands up and waving to the crowd as his loud theme music continued to play. Applause met his ears as hundreds of people on the beach all welcomed him.  
"Hollla!" he greeted, "What a great crowd! Thank you! Thank you!" he called as the applauding dragged on.

Many people stared in awe at the Duke's elaborateness, knowing without a doubt who he was, as his name was quite popular. Plenty of crowd members thought he a worthy man to look up to, since he had the money, the fun toys, the nice cars, and the influence to win over practically anyone's respect, but Mike Chilton, Dutch, Tennie, Chuck and Texas were among the few who were not impressed.

...

After taking a walk outside of Antonio's and sorting through his mind, Mike had decided to just go to the lake party like planned and enjoy his time with Foxy. He'd figured that setting aside the task of deciphering through his emotions was the best option right now, and there would be plenty of time later to work out his feelings towards Julie. He'd left with the gang shortly after to the lake and presently met up with Foxy and her Amazons. They'd been chatting up a storm and having a perfectly fine time up until now... Duke's arrival had not been expected, and Mike thought it rather strange that he would pick here of all places to make a public appearance. The respect Duke received from the crowd was sickening and Mike watched on in aggravation. After a moment of soaking in everyone's acknowledgement, Duke then reached a hand back into the limo and to Mike's astonishment, out came Julie.

She was dressed in cute, loose fitting beach clothes and her red hair was braided to the side. Just the sight of her made Mike's stomach begin flip in excitement.  
"Is that... Julie?" Chuck asked, clearly just as surprised as Mike was. Mike just watched agape. The Duke led the timid Julie by the arm through his line up of expensively dressed body guards and towards the beach crowd. Mike watched with the intensity of a hawk. Despite the fact that Julie was the center of hundreds of people's attention, one of her worst fears, she smiling and seemed quite content to hold on to Duke's arm. In fact, she looked to be enjoying herself. That was when she suddenly caught his gaze. The eye contact was brief but unmistakable. Her smiling eyes sparkled brightly and in that moment Mike felt his insides turn to mush. Okay, he relented. Yes, he definitely did feel something for her. But then, almost as swiftly as she had seen him, her beautiful eyes shifted directly back to Duke at her side, expression unchanged. Mike felt as if he had only been allowed to bask in her ray of sunshine for a split second before she had decided to shine her light upon a more worthy candidate. A crushing wave of disappointment pound into his soul. How could he have ever gotten it into his head that he of all people could be capable of winning over Julie's affections, (even if the idea had first been put in there by his not-so-insightful-as-he-would-have-hoped friends)? Still, if _he_ wasn't deserving of Julie, what in the world made the Duke any more so? Mike just couldn't see the logic in it. Julie had never shown interest in the Duke before. Maybe she was just being polite and he was taking things too seriously? Yeah, that was it. Surely she was just going along with what Duke wanted for the sake of the deal they had made about spending the day together. Speaking of which, had Duke's men found anything suspicious about the Terra Dwellers yet? Mike had to remember to run by the Duke's Palace in the morning and find out... Julie's temporary entraptment to the ego-maniac had better have been worth what was agreed. With a sigh, Mike realized he was was thinking too much. He was beginning to feel a headache coming on, though maybe the loud thudding music had something to do with it.

"Hey, Mike?" came a female voice by his ear. It was only then that he realized Foxy was trying to get his attention. Mike shook himself mentally and resumed his normal facade.  
"Yeah Foxy?" he replied, smiling at her. Foxy was wearing a hot little bathing suit, with the same yellow and black color theme as her racing suit only with far more skin showing. She was as pretty as ever, but Mike noticed with some wonder that his stomach didn't flip around her as it had a moment ago after laying eyes on Julie.  
"Isn't that Julie?" Foxy asked curiously.  
"Uhh.. yeah, yeah it is," he said, trying not to sound as bothered as he felt.  
"I didn't know she was dating the Duke. Score one for her," Foxy said appraisingly. Mike frowned.  
"Well, she's not _dating_ him, it's just a one day kind of thing," he countered.  
"It certainly doesn't _look_ like a one day thing..." Foxy responded with a smirk. Mike's stomach went cold. That wasn't exactly what he had wanted to hear... He now turned his gaze over as Duke and Julie graced the band stage together. The speakers from Duke's limo had ceased playing and now everything was silent.  
"Please please! Continue on pleasant citizens! Let the party resume!" Duke ordered through the microphone in his showy, announcer voice. The crowd cheered in excitement and the band immediately began to continue playing as told. Duke couldn't have been more at home up on that stage, beginning to dance like no one in the world would ever think him as ridiculous as he really was. And to make matters worse, the crowd only found him incredibly entertaining, joining in on the fun. But what angered Mike the most was when he watched as Duke grabbed ahold of Julie's hand and caused her to begin dancing with him. Julie had never ever liked dancing. She was so shy most of the time that Mike had never ever seen her dance before, but now, here she was, obliging Duke like all her fears were completely forgotten and joining in as if it was the time of her life! Maybe she really _did_ like the Duke...? Mike swallowed, his heart beginning to quiver in turmoil.  
"Whoa! Go Julie!" Chuck cheered unexpectedly right into his ear. Mike winced.  
"Hey, the girls want to go boating, you guys up for it?" Foxy asked, putting a hand on Mike's arm. At this point, he would do anything if it meant he didn't have to continue watching Julie have such a wonderful time with the Duke.  
"Sure, that sounds fun," he agreed pleasantly, turning to follow her and grabbing Chuck in the process to haul him along through the beach crowd towards the lake dock.

...

The crowds, the music, everyone watching her, it was too much to take! Julie was living her own worst nightmare and she had willingly submitted herself to it! She knew people did crazy things when they were in love, but this was just completely bonkers! Between all the fake smiles and attempts at not making a fool of herself while dancing, Julie was madly attempting to plot her escape from the stage. But to make matters even more complicated, Duke was entirely unaware of her discomfort and whenever she spotted a possible chance for escape, he would snag onto her again. Frantically, she shot her gaze about the audience in search for Mike. She had seen him a couple minutes ago, and his expression of shock and amazement had been quite satisfactory, but since then he had disappeared. If he wasn't watching this, she wasn't going to withstand this humiliation any longer. When her attempts at seeking Chilton out in the crowd proved unfruitful, she gathered her courage and decided to speak directly to Duke.  
"Duke..." she said, her voice struggling to be loud enough over the music for him to hear, "I...I want to get off the stage..."  
"What?!" Duke called back, cupping his ear towards her. Julie grimaced and tried again.  
"I said: do you want to go get something to drink?!" she asked, pleased with the excuse she'd come up with to get off the stage.  
"You need some time to think?!" Duke screamed, having misheard her completely.  
"No, I want something to drink!" she repeated.  
"Darling, I promise you, you don't stink!" he responded. Julie deadpanned, just about ready to face-palm. Instead, she grabbed Duke by the arm, and yanked him down off the band platform after her until they found a quieter spot behind stage.  
"I said, can we maybe go get something to drink?" she said now, not having to scream so loud.  
"Oh, sure _thang_ gorgeous! Anything for my angel cake!" Duke agreed readily, taking her arm and shuffling her off towards the nearest smoothie bar. They were followed promptly by Babs and the rest of Duke's body guards, as they seemed determined to stay near no matter what. But Julie didn't mind. She just breathed a sigh of relief, glad to not be the center of attention any longer. Her hunt to find Mike was not yet over however. She searched the lake shore while waiting for her drink, eyes combing the sand and water for the brown haired man in the blue and orange jacket. When she finally did spot him, her mouth hung slack. He was on a boat out on the water with Foxy, Chuck and a few other of the Amazon girls. Julie bit her lip.  
"One strawberry-banana smoothie, just for you Julie-kins," Duke stated, now handing the drink over. Julie smiled and took it, sipping thoughtfully.  
"What does her loveliness wish to do now? Hmm?" Duke inquired.  
"Let's go for a boat ride..." Julie answered confidently, a twinkle of mischief glimmering in her eyes.

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_**This is just getting hilarious! I have so much fun writing these characters! Anyway, for those of you who are craving some action, the next part will be chock full, along with a bit of insight as to what the Terra Dwellers have been planning! :D If you enjoyed this chapter and would like to grace me with a review I'd be eternally grateful! **_


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